TRC Questions #7: Application

As we consider the reasons and rationale for gathering together for worship, and for using the Zoom platform for virtual worship, here are some reflections on application.

• When you are unable to attend worship (because of illness, travel, or some other providential hindrance), do you have a strong sense that you are missing it? Do you consider that the rest of the congregation feels your absence as well? 
• How does your presence contribute to the service of worship being offered by the congregation? What ways do you pick up on the contributions of others to the worship service? How is that different in "virtual" worship—is it amplified? Suppressed? 
• What do you do in preparation for corporate worship ordinarily? Do you do those same things to prepare for "virtual" worship?
• How does the reason of "covenant renewal" shift your own expectations for corporate worship? How does it change the importance. you place on your own participation in corporate worship? Does covenant renewal represent a new paradigm for you for how and why corporate worship is vital to the life of a Christian?

Zoom Thoughts

Also as we reflect on worshiping via "virtual" space, I thought it would be helpful for you to consider the following "best practices" and other suggestions for worshiping via the Zoom platform.

• Zoom has two main viewing modes: Gallery view and Presenter view. We recommend that you use Gallery view for most/all of the worship service, in order to best sense the presence of your fellow worshipers. You may prefer to switch to Presenter view during the sermon.
• It may be difficult to see and participate in the virtual worship service on a device with a smaller screen. We encourage you to use the largest screen that you can, so that you might see everyone else clearly. Many devices are able to broadcast video up to a full-size TV using certain connections or additional devices, which may be optimal for your experience of virtual worship.
• Because your participation is just as important as everyone else's, ideally you would keep both audio and video "on" throughout the whole worship service. This way others can see and hear you, just as you can them, and the feeling of one another's presence will emphasize the gathering aspect of worship, even if virtually. If you are unable (for various reasons) to enable both audio and video, we strongly recommend that you engage at least one—let us see or hear you, if not both.
• In the same way that it is important that you see everyone else clearly, it is important that they can see you clearly too! Device cameras placed at low angles (such as in your lap or on a coffee table, etc.) can make it difficult for the rest of us to see your face. We suggest that you find a convenient way to prop your device up at eye level or slightly below.
• As with normal face-to-face worship, your participation in the various elements of the worship service is edifying and encouraging to the others who are also participating. Singing with full voice, reading aloud and in a consistent meter/rhythm for congregational elements of the liturgy, and standing/kneeling as you are physically able all serve to build up the body and strengthen everyone's worship, not just your own.
• Just as when worshiping "in person" then most of us are actively mindful of how our actions may be a hindrance to worship for those around us, so it is with virtual worship too. While it may be tempting to multi-task or keep your hands from being idle, please be considerate of how your choices and actions may be a distraction and hindrance to others' worship.
• Whereas in a regular gathering for worship then seating arrangements and other factors allow us to shift our focus toward the worship leader, in virtual worship we are more vulnerable to distractions, both visual and audible. What makes for a distraction? It is something that is unexpected—which can be a sound or something happening on the screen. Someone standing and walking out of view is not a distraction, because that happens regularly; someone standing up and starting to do jumping jacks IS a distraction, because we would never expect that during a corporate worship service. Please be conscious of how what you are doing on your end of the camera/microphone may distract others, and thus hinder them from worship.
• One benefit that Zoom offers as our virtual sanctuary for worship is that we can socialize with one another, more like we might in a more normal setting. Please plan to log into the Zoom meeting early before the service, and/or to stay on afterward, if you want to socialize. Also, we would encourage you to account for the limitations of the platform for socializing; try not to dominate the conversation, or exclude others by focusing on one person or topic too narrowly.

TRC Questions #7: Why Zoom? Continued...

Following up on last week's discussion, I return this week to the question, "Why did Trinity choose Zoom for our virtual worship?"

To answer that question, I dig deeper into the bigger question, "Why do we gather for public, corporate worship in the first place?"

These questions are at the heart of what we do at Trinity, and who we are as Christians and worshipers. Here's this week's video:

Look for questions and application coming over the days to come.

TRC Questions #6: Why Zoom?

Why did we choose to use the Zoom platform for our worship services during the pandemic? Why not just use a streaming media service as so many other churches have opted to do?

To understand this, we have to first ask and answer the question, "Why do we worship corporately in the first place?" Why do we gather for worship as Christians?

In this week's video, I begin to answer the questions above. This will be the first of a multi-part answer that will be broken down over the next few weeks. Here's this week's video:

Over the next few days I'll provide further reflection on application and prayer, as I have been doing.

Liturgy, forms, and "everyone is wrong but me"

Jeremy Walker reports on the Reformation 21 blog that, in essence, the reason for the resurgence of interest in liturgy is because of the absence of spiritually substantial religion. In other words, the only reason why people might prefer a more formal liturgy is, he says, that they hope it might "fill the void" in their spiritually-empty lives.

That's interesting. I don't know Mr. Walker, nor am I aware of what congregation he is a member of—but in the circles I've moved in, it's actually the inverse of this: the people I know who are the most mature, spiritually, seem to have a growing interest in liturgy.

Mr. Walker's fellow Ref21 blogger, Carl Trueman, took him to task for his misunderstandings just 45 minutes later. He takes apart most of Mr. Walker's post better than I could.

All but one key idea. Mr. Walker concludes with this:

"The only thing that arrests the swing is when the anchor drops in the Word of God and simple, unaffected worship enlivened by the Holy Spirit is known and felt by saints who are satisfied with pursuing and enjoying God's promised ends by God's appointed means."

The great irony here is that Mr. Walker is under the impression that "simple" and "unaffected" worship is not, itself, a "form" and a "liturgy" of itself. He is welcome to his preference for a simple and plain form of worship—but let's not pretend that a plain form is anything other than exactly that.

Christ-Centered Worship discussion #2

Our Session's second discussion of Christ-Centered Worship was this morning covering chapters 4 and 5. Once again, these are the questions I presented to the elders in advance of the discussion.

(Because the chapters were very similar in content— and my questions combined the ideas from both— the questions are not divided by chapter as they were last time.)

• Calvin led worship in French, because he wanted to be understood. What are some ways that we order our worship "in the vernacular"? In what ways could we do better?
  
• Chapell discusses how Calvin both participated in worship and led the congregation as "God's representative" (p. 43). What elements of worship are strongly participatory in our liturgy? What elements could be more so? How do/should our leaders demonstrate equal participation? How do/should our leaders (especially the pastor/preacher) demonstrate a role as God's representative?
  
• Are you familiar with the "regulative principle of worship"? What does your familiarity (and agreement) with it suggest to you about what should be included in corporate worship? About what should be excluded?
  
• Unlike the Roman Catholic liturgy, Calvin and Westminster put the Confession of Sin and Assurance of God's Pardoning Grace immediately in response to the call to worship and acknowledgement of God's glory— toward the beginning of the worship service. What is the function and place of the Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon, in your view? Why?
  
• Calvin and Westminster made heavy use of Psalms sung and read. Why do you think the Psalter was so prominent in their liturgies? Why do you think the evangelical church has moved away from using the Psalms more frequently in public worship?
  
• In contrast to Luther, Calvin (and Westminster) employed congregational singing frequently and heavily. How do you think song and music "fit" into worship today? What would happen if congregational song was taken out of worship entirely (a la Luther)?
  
• Calvin saw the whole Bible as "preachable" (in contrast to Luther, whose preaching focus was narrowed to the New Testament). Westminster did, too, and also employed more frequent readings throughout the liturgy. Does our worship service make good use of all of Scripture? Why do you think so many worship styles/liturgies today include fewer readings than were historically common?
  
• There are many individual elements of worship that are included in most or all of the liturgies we've seen so far in Chapell's book. Which ones are included in our liturgy? Which ones are missing? Which ones are placed very differently in ours than in these historic liturgies? Why do you think we have included some but left out others? Why have we placed ours where we have them?

Christ-Centered Worship book discussion #1

The Dove Mountain Church Session is reading Bryan Chapell's book, Christ-Centered Worship, and discussing it together. For December, we read the first three chapters and discussed them on the second Wednesday.

Below are the discussion questions that I presented to the elders prior to our discussion; feel free to read the book and make use of these.


Overarching Questions

• In each of the various liturgies, and in our liturgy, how do the liturgical elements account for the "stranger in our midst"— those who are unfamiliar with, or unbelieving toward, the Gospel? How do the elements disregard unbelievers?
  
• What do the liturgies (including ours) — and our congregation's participation in them — communicate about the various elements of worship? How can we employ different forms, styles, and/or modes of these elements to accomplish the same goals?

Chapter 1

• What are some ways that you have seen structure communicate a clear message?
  
• In what ways are we in danger of being ineffective communicators in our worship?
  
• Looking at the chart in chapter 1 (surveying the different liturgical patterns), where do you see similarities in the various traditional liturgies? Where do you see differences?
  
• At this point in our reading, where is our liturgy similar to the various liturgies on that chart? Where is our liturgy different from them?

Chapter 2

• What elements of the Roman Catholic worship liturgy do you see echoes and hold-overs of, in our liturgy? What elements have you seen carried over in other congregations that you have worshipped with?


Chapter 3

• One of Luther's goals in shaping his liturgy was to make worship a more participatory experience, in order to emphasize the communal nature of the church. What are some ways that this goal is met in our congregation's liturgy? What are some ways it could be better met?
  
• Are you surprised to see how much of Luther's liturgy continues the forms of the Roman Catholic liturgy? Why or why not?